Rio Theater proclaimed "Splendid" by Via Magazine

Congratulations to the folks who run the local Rio Theater. Apparently, we River Rats & Rattinas not the only people who adore this friendly & wonderful little movie theater, which operates out of a quonset hut decorated with paintings of the Russian River & has the yummiest concession stand EVER (gourmet hot dogs from Don's Dogs, Boca burgers, pizza, popcorn with real butter, coffee, beer, wine, & a selection of teas, in addition to the usual sugary & carb-laden movie fare).

Josh Dale, who runs the Monte Rio Information Web site (a guide to businesses, events, local agencies, etc. in the charming Russian River town of Monte Rio) has just informed me that Via Magazine (AAA's monthly magazine) gave the Rio Theater a nice write-up about unique & cool movie theaters in the Western U.S., entitled Splendid Movie Theaters, in their March 2007 issue!

I am proud to have the Rio included in this pantheon of great historic movie theaters. Way to go!

LAST CHANCE! We need YOUR ideas for RRROC's Strategic Plan.

Seriously. THE DEADLINE IS APRIL 8th! That's THIS SUNDAY! Go to www.RussianRiverPlan.com, download the form (it's a Microsoft Word document), fill it in & email it to psainc.cox.net ASAP. If you don't have MS Word or an Internet connection, have a friend print it out for you & snail mail it to the address on the form. I'll explain what's going on & how to fill in the form in the following text (I do find the language employed to be rather peculiar ... particularly their stated "Submittal deadline").

Oooh, those sneaky little devils at RRROC ... I was unable to attend the latest round of "Community Visioning" events or the last RRROC meeting due to scheduling conflicts. Then I perused the RRROC meeting agenda which was posted on the bulletin board by my post office a few days ago & noticed that the agenda looked suspiciously short & that the information seemed rather vague, even by RRROC meeting agenda standards.

So I started asking around & eagerly tore open my copy of the Russian River Monthly, which arrived in my mailbox only YESTERDAY, & discovered that RRROC will be voting on the FINAL VERSION of the Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan document will define the goals & vision we have for our community & hence how future RRROC funds will be prioritized & spent for infrastructure & development. Basically, we're talking about THE ENTIRE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY!

Luckily, RRROC & CDC are still seeking input from us River Rats & Rattinas. At least until THIS SUNDAY.

If you have any desire for ideas & suggestions for community improvements, NOW is your chance to be heard. So go ahead & ask RRROC to fund causes near & dear to your heart, like: environmental preservation; housing for the homeless; speed-bumps & sidewalks on your street; upgrades & repairs for your neighborhood park & playground; funds for spiffing up storefronts (fresh coats of paint & touch ups for dilapidated signs) so our downtowns look more attractive; community gardens; financial incentives for home/business improvements that promote ecologically sustainable living; a community center with a pool & activities for youth & the elderly; etc.

The language on the form is rather odd. It lists a series of community goals (gathered from the visioning sessions) -- like "Public Health & Safety" & "Social Issues" -- but rather intimidatingly refers to them as "Key Result Areas." Don't worry about that. Just scan the form & write ideas down for any items that resonate with you, provide your name & phone number &/or email address at the bottom of the form & send it back.

You may wonder why you're sending your form to people in "Fountain Hills, Arizona." RRROC & CDC have hired a consulting firm which specializes in redevelopment & community planning. They do a good job, but they're not the ones in charge.

I am excited about most of the projects that RRROC has chosen to fund, & I am grateful for all of the committee members' hard work (& also the diligence of the folks from the CDC). Yet I also feel that it is too early to vote on a final version of the Strategic Plan document. RRROC has employed absolutely ZERO publicity for the RussianRiverPlan.com Web site, the existence of the community input form, & the April 8th deadline for, um, "submittals."

RRROC Chairman Dan Fein is a nice, intelligent, well-spoken & highly competent gentleman who cares about the community & REALLY wants to get things done. Alas, the poor guy seems to have little patience for the creeping, banana slug-like rate of progress which is inherent to incrementally building community consensus & support. I can't blame him, because it would drive ME totally crazy too.

Yet, Mr. Fein needs to know that he has alienated a substantial segment of folks who live & work along the Russian River & has ticked them off to the point where they repeatedly & vehemently mutter their suspicions & invectives for even the most seemingly innocent & worthy RRROC-funded projects. These people think that Mr. Fein wants to squelch public input & ram projects through that will attract tourists at the expense of local needs. I feel that this is only partially true (since attracting tourism WILL give us the wherewithal to meet local needs & also because tourists & locals often appreciate the exact same stuff), but I can easily understand why people see him this way.

Mr. Fein, I advise you to spend time with us River Rats & Rattinas & give us some warm fuzzies. When your friend Mike Reilly, the County Supervisor retires or moves on & you seek election for his job, you'll definitely want our votes.

Letter to RRROC re: Our Parks & Recreation Facilities

Boris Sztorch, CDC Redevelopment Manager
Kathleen Kane, CDC Executive Director
Dan Fein, Chairman of the RRROC
Community Development Commission
1440 Guerneville Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95403

April 2. 2007

RE: Our Park & Recreation Facilities: Drake Park, Monte Rio Park, & … Rio Nido Pool?

Dear Mr. Storch, Ms. Kane & Mr. Fein:

I’m excited about RRROC’s support for the two new park projects (Guerneville River Park & the Riverkeeper’s Park), but I also strongly urge the CDC & RRROC to fund improvements to our existing facilities. Although many parks & recreation areas are richly deserving of updates, my letter focuses on the ones that are most familiar to me:

· Drake Park in Guerneville: This facility boasts a playground, nice landscaping (with many flowers & wisteria vines climbing over the chain link fences) 2 tennis courts, 1 basketball court, & a parking lot. Many local visitors & tourists visit this park throughout the year. But they do not stay long. The lack of a reliable water source (the water fountain on the playground is non-functional most of the time) & the typically overfilled & disgusting condition of the portapotty drives people away. I feel that the lack of these standard conveniences does not project a positive, friendly & caring impression of our community to locals & tourists.

· Pedestrian walkway between Drake Park & the Guerneville River Park: The two facilities should be connected with a pedestrian walkway so people can walk safely back & forth. Try walking with a bunch of little kids from Drake to the River Park for exploring or potty breaks & you’ll see how dangerous the current situation really is. The relatively simple & inexpensive additions of a walkway, water source, & bathroom would also transform the separate but adjacent facilities into a larger recreation area that would appeal to locals & visitors alike. A critical mass of people using the parks would also create opportunities for enterprising local businesses & individuals (i.e. an ice-cream truck, taco cart, etc.) & generate revenue for the county (licensing fees + sales tax).

· Monte Rio Park: This facility has a playground & tennis courts, but nobody ever goes there because the wood-shavings which serve as ground cover are infested with mold. The park should also have a public restroom & reliable source of fresh water. Since Monte Rio is home to many families with young children & is also a major tourist destination, their park deserves an upgrade. I have never been to this park, but have heard about it from friends who live in Monte Rio.

· Rio Nido Pool: The pool, restaurant & bar in Rio Nido would be ideal for a community center or even a privately-run, for-profit business that receives RRROC funding for upgrades in exchange for public access (like the River Keepers Park). The property is currently for sale, but it is not on the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) because Dee & Midge want to sell to someone who will continue its tradition as a family-oriented facility that is open to the local public (i.e. not another high-end spa). It’s a wonderful facility & boasts a pool, video arcade, snack bar, bar/restaurant, enclosed patio, spacious lawn, & small stage for entertainment. If we enclosed & heated the pool, we could use it year-round. The restaurant, liquor & entertainment licenses could even enable the facility to be profitable – especially if the café were open year-round & also served tea & coffee during the day. Additional revenues could also be generated by renting out the facility for parties & private gatherings.

I also vehemently object to the fact that whenever anyone suggests anything to do with a public restroom, officials conjure up the grim & grungy specter of what we delicately refer to as “maintenance issues.” Why should provision for the needs of our predominantly lawful & considerate community be overridden by the obnoxious & disgusting habits of a few vandals & careless slobs. This is grossly unfair. Especially since solutions to “maintenance issues” have barely even been discussed.

I can think of several solutions to these issues right off the top of my head:

• Have the sheriffs & CHPs drive by the parks frequently over the course of their rounds. Not once have I ever seen a police car cruising by Drake Park.
• Create volunteer “neighborhood watch” committees to patrol local parks, pick up litter, & report incidents.
• Install special, heavy-duty phones in the park that can ONLY connect to the Sheriff’s office so park-goers can discretely report incidents in progress.
• Post signs stating the (hopefully hefty) fines for vandalizing & abusing public facilities in prominent locations.
• Use building materials that enable restrooms to be easily & quickly hosed down.
• Consider distributing tokens (either free or for a nominal fee) at various locations away from the bathroom for bathroom access to discourage random abuse.
• Have a bidet instead of toilet paper & an electric hand-drier instead of paper towels so we don’t wind up with disgusting trails & wads of paper products around the bathroom.
• Provide plenty of garbage & recycling cans that have those funnel-like openings that make it easy to drop trash in & hard to take trash out. The people who dump out the trashcans are probably looking for bottles that they can return for the deposits.
• Hold monthly volunteer clean-up days.
• Charge the $10 per parcel special assessment for park maintenance that was mentioned in a previous meeting (though my skimpy wallet is already screeching, “OUCH!”).

Thank you for your time & consideration.